What should i use to cover my wall?

I redecorating my bedroom and there is a very pesky wall I am dealing with. I had a lot of thumb tacks in it at one time so now there is a lot of little holes. I am aware you can cover the holes with this goopy stuff and then paint it but i really don't want to. I looked into covering it with cork but it was much too expensive. I don't have a tone of money to spend. What should i cover the wall with that id CHEAP but not stupid looking.